Since its inception, the radio has evolved in terms of technology and quality of sound, but not in terms of becoming interactive. People frequently are exposed to music, a program or an advertisement playing over broadcast radio or the like, while at home, on the beach, in the car, etc; or they might like to donate to a radio station or a charitable cause or even vote on a song or a poll being conducted on the air. These actions may be inconvenient or impossible, depending on the user's current location and activity, for example driving a car. Some states and localities have imposed limitations on the use of cell phones, for example, while a user is driving.
Sometimes, the radio listener (hereinafter called the “customer” or “user”) hears advertisements played over broadcast radio or the like at various locations where is may be inconvenient to make a note of the product or service being advertised. If the customer does not have an immediate access to the information, or cannot store that information, there will be a protracted delay between the time when they are initially exposed to the advertising and develop interest in the product or service, and the time where they actually have the opportunity to act on that interest. When they do finally have the opportunity to purchase the product, their impulse to purchase may have diminished or they may not even remember the name of the advertiser, product or service that they wish to purchase. The immediacy of the information and their interest has waned, and therefore the sale is lost.
Sometimes the listener would like to donate to a cause or a radio station, and he is driving or may be in an inconvenient location to call or access the online site and act upon their desire. At a later stage, their impulse to donate may have diminished or they may not even remember the number they would have to call to donate. The immediacy of the information and their interest has waned, and therefore the donation is lost.
Similarly, the user frequently likes the song or the program he is hearing and would like to purchase that track or the album or a copy of the transcript but he is where is may be inconvenient to make a note or cannot later remember the name of that song or program. Thus there will be a protracted delay between the time when they are initially exposed to the song or program and develop interest in the product, and the time where they actually have the opportunity to act on that interest. When they do finally have the opportunity to purchase the product, their impulse to purchase may have diminished or they may not even remember the name of the item they wish to purchase. The immediacy of the information and their interest has waned, and again a potential sale is lost.
What is needed is a way for a customer to immediately and easily capture the relevant information in response to hearing programming content or advertisements, so that at a later stage when they have access to a computer or wireless access to a network, they can examine the automatically identified product and purchase the desired product or service with a simple action that does not require web surfing or internet research.